Mutation
by Sidonie.Imriel
Summary: Chaos shifts across the Commonwealth, ebbing and flowing, but ever constant. Factions arise and collide, oftentimes crushing the remnants of society against broken loyalties where they become warped and mutated. How will the Lone Wanderer change when she collides with Elder Maxson? This fanfiction contains incredibly mature material that may make some uncomfortable.


Chapter One: Contact

The Prydwyn hung above her ominous and encroaching, scrubbing out the stars with its girth. She shifted her gaze across the bulbous frame; taking in the multitude of glinting lights and feeling peace wash over her for a brief moment. These beckoning suns so far they lost their title, were seen as a pinprick when really they were blazing orbs. They blanketed the sky, scattered in haphazard patterns, more brilliant then they had ever been in her real life, her past life. She still couldn't help looking at her life now as a dream. These stars weren't real, how could they be, brilliant as they were? This world, scorched and broken, was a product of a fevered mind… Surely, Nate and Shaun weren't really gone and corrupted, ripped away from her by a cruel whim of fate. She shook her head fiercely and forced the burning threat of tears to subside as she turned sharply toward the Vertibird and stepped up behind the minigun.

It was a short ride and her heart swooped lower into her stomach than usual as the copter lurched into the resting bay. She jumped down and nodded toward the deluge of chest salutes, noticing the shadowed eyes of every soldier. Of course Danse's supposed betrayal had spread far and wide throughout the ranks of the Brotherhood, and so of course she was now in question. Danse's origins had certainly created a sticky situation. Still, she would make her decision again, one million times over. It didn't matter. Danse was as sentient as she. There was no denying that. She could curse the Institute for playing at creation all she wanted but they had succeeded in their game. The synths were no longer just machines, as Maxson was so surely convinced. If he had any interaction with them whatsoever he would realize this.

As she stepped onto the command deck she saw that Maxson's observation hull was enclosed with a huge steel door, devoid of window, with a knight flanking either side. Another small sigh stuck in her throat and she started forward with another nod toward her Brethren.

"I believe Elder Maxson is expecting me," she said.

A nod was her only response. She pushed the door open and stepped through, ready to face her punishment.

It was the stars that greeted her, swathed across the enormous glass windows like a spattering of far-off headlights glinting from the world below. But they were twisted around; looming above like diamonds instead and she could see with a step forward that the world below was dark and weary. The earth had lost the electricity of man, traded it in for the diamonds of her past. Not by choice of course, man had blown his own transformer. The earth took what light she could. Now she seemed barren and broken, with spots of random flame toiling up from trashcans or burning carcasses. The more regular glow of lamps and bulbs dwindled against these like pathetic fireflies against a roar of fire.

"You failed me today, Paladin."

His voice was a growl behind her and she felt it spur the tiny hairs along her neck to stand upright. She didn't turn to face him, though, as she replied.

"Paladin?"

"You completed your mission, on paper, so your promotion is unavoidable. Still, rumors fly in the Brotherhood," the anger in his voice was like a living thing, coiling somewhere behind her.

"I'm sure Danse will keep his word. No one will discover-"

"You're not to speak that name in my presence again. Why you would put yourself on the line to defend that… _thing_ …is beyond me." His barking voice pushed hers into silence. She could feel him moving, somehow; his aura reached out as he paced… like wind from a blistering furnace.

She almost turned to him but tensed and stood firm, feeling her own anger rise to meet his.

"He's a man. He's a _being,_ no matter what you think, Elder." Her voice was smoother than she expected.

She felt him step up quickly behind her and tensed even more as his long coat swept up against her legs. She started to turn again but it was his anger that stopped her now, made physical in the iron hold that jolted her shoulders. His fingers sunk like vices into her firm skin.

"You really believe that don't you? You really believe you're in love with it." No longer barking, the rumbling growl had returned to vibrate along her spine.

It was like she was being set to flame and doused with ice water simultaneously. What was happening? She couldn't move, his hold on her shoulders was too firm and she shivered as his bearded jawline brushed her neck. His voice continued, rumbling and coarse,

"You claim his manliness so readily, as if you have personal experience."

She choked on her reply, but he would have drowned her out with his gruff voice as it went on,

"The thought of it makes me sick." She felt his spittle hit her ear with the last word and flinched away but his hands pulled her tighter against him. As she was forced back, his pelvis thrust forward and she felt something hot and rigid press against her.

"You might as well penetrate yourself with your 10 MM."

She felt his hand grip Martha, who hung loyal as ever at her beltline and shifted quickly, dropping and spinning. His hands fell away; she was too fast for him to hold. She managed one smart punch across his rock-hard jaw before ducking and shifting around again, knowing he'd easily have her in a melee battle. He was too fast for her to make it far, though. A force slammed her forward and she grunted as she collided with the railing in front of the windows, her breath forced out completely. When the same force reestablished itself behind her, pressing her face firmly against the stars beyond the cold glass, she watched them tilt and begin to stream across her vision as her consciousness slipped.

"You DARE raise your hand against me?"

His voice, like a roar in her ear, blackened the stars all the more.

"Pl-…" She couldn't even speak, the last breath she could manage like a dying animal, clinging to the fog it formed on the glass. He was so heavy, grinding her hips into the railing as he pressed her torso to the glass.

The pressure let up, suddenly, and the air rushed in, spinning her heady brain to loop and blank. A rough cough tore from her throat and she tried to force herself up away from the glass but he held her firm.

"There is a price for your insubordination." The growl was so low she almost missed it.

Her heaving breaths broke into a weak laugh as she responded,

"Why promote me if you're just going to kill me?"

"Oh, I don't intend to kill you, Paladin. You're one of my best soldiers." He seemed to be growing softer.

His growl was a purr now, and she felt his hands reach up, fingers ghosting along her chin and jaw as he unlatched her helmet and swept it away to clutter near their feet. Then he reached down to pull the straps loose along her ribs where her chest armor was secured.

"What are you-" He cut her words sharply when he jerked her back against him, dragging the armor up over her head and slinging it away. He forced her up against the railing again and she uttered a breathy, "Maxson…?" as his hands moved back up along her arms and shoulders.

The heartbeat it took him to grip her BOS suit at the cuff and rip it from the seam of the zipper was the one she skipped. Her breasts sprung forward, barely contained in a rough, homemade bra. They pressed insistently against the material to flatten as he forced her against the glass again.

"Look at you… You're magnificent," his voice growled. "Why would you ever surrender yourself to a machine?"

She felt his fingers pull her knapsacks loose and heard the sound of Nate hitting the ground with a metallic thud. Martha had been lost in the first struggle and she hadn't thought to bring anything else… except the dagger and the machete he just wrenched roughly from her hip and thigh. Although most of her clothing was still on, she had never felt so naked, pressed up against the cold metal and glass with all of her weapons stripped methodically away. She had taken down entire squads of Super Mutants solo, but this one man had completely over-powered her. Her fingers clenched against the window, nails biting into flesh. When she felt him reach up to rip away the knitted spandex she'd reconstructed into a band for her breasts, she readied herself. The material split apart like cobwebs against his pulling hands and now her bare chest was pressed against the window, the freezing glass torturous against her upright nipples. She barely caught sight of his reflection in the mirror, his blue eyes glinting as they gazed down.

She took her chance, swinging her elbow back with all of the strength she could muster. His hold had lessoned just enough and she was able to wrench her hand free, making solid contact with his ribs as she simultaneously slammed her head back into his face. Contact. He stumbled back and she dropped down, kicking his legs out before scrambling desperately for Nate. Her fingers graced the metal but his fingers grasped her ankle and wrenched her back at the same time. She kicked back and hit solid flesh with her other foot, propelling herself up enough to grab Nate and then swing around as she landed another elbow. This one knocked him across the face and sent him sprawling. She cocked Nate as she stepped over him and dropped down to press the barrel firmly against his forehead, straddling his lap to keep him in place.

He grinned as he looked up at her and her eyes narrowed as she forced Nate's tip into his flesh; her finger hovered on the trigger. Her mind was like a numb buzz, a chaotic calm dragging thoughts through heartbeats like hours. She'd have to fight her way off the Prydwyn. She could commandeer a suit of Power Armor and jump…

"Go ahead, soldier," his voice was like the rumble of engines below deck.

She felt her reserve falter and knew he felt it too; Nate was snapped from her grasp and she had a vague impression of the gun skipping across the floor. Blue was all she could really focus on, though, the intense blue of Maxson's eyes as they bore up at her. His lips were ravaging her own before she even realized he was sitting up. He forced her BOS uniform down further, trapping her arms against her body with the rolled fabric. Her response was automatic, her lips moving in cadence with him, and her tongue dancing in tune… with a growl he bit her lip and pulled away, while squeezing her arms even tighter against her body. She couldn't move them an inch in any direction and felt completely trapped as he bent his head to ravage her neck and breasts with the same animalistic hunger.

The smell of sharp metal and fusion cells, reminiscent of ozone, floated all around her, cloying with an underlying scent of man. His lips were on hers again and he was pulling at her uniform violently. The fabric gave and ripped, allowing her several more inches of room, which she took full advantage of, thrashing against him. In the turmoil she managed another head-butt, this time bursting his nose like a strawberry. She watched with satisfaction as blood streamed over his lips but his hold had intensified, cutting off oxygen once again. Blackness pressed in on the edges of her vision as his face roared in anger. She focused in on his scar now, watching it pucker against the straining muscles. She had never seen him so angry. She had never seen anyone so angry. He pushed her forward and down, slamming her head and body into the floor which caused the blackness to grow until there was just a pinprick of light.

She had a vague feeling of his hands on her, pulling and bending her limbs, grasping material and pulling it down, jerking at straps and shoes. She felt her vambraces fall away, shortly followed by her greaves. The hands became more insistent, pulling along the front of her suit now, ripping it roughly all the way down her stomach and pelvis. She roused as they forced the material down and stripped it from her legs, laying her bare.

"No!" Her voice fluttered desperately, like a weak, useless thing.

Her hands and legs were of more use, thrashing at him again, landing some solid blows. With a rough grunt he contained them, and then landed his own blow, right across her left cheek, setting the stars to reel. Her head fell back and the energy seeped away again. She could taste iron and felt blood pooling at the corner of her lips. He was rummaging between her legs, breathing heavily, and then he was there, pressing down on her, filling her…

"No."

She opened her eyes to blue. A storm of blue, swelling and writhing, syncing with the twisted flesh of his scar like some destroyed, beautiful thing. She felt her breath forced out as he pushed further, thrusting in to fill her completely. She could feel the worn, soft leather of his coat caressing her inner thighs as he moved. A bloody smile lit dangerously on his face as he pulled out, and then disappeared as he collided with her again. His grunts grew harried and she heard her own voice sighing as he rocked into her. It was too much; he had won, and she tried to turn away, but he gripped her hair and forced her to look at him as he continued to fuck her, dribbling blood along her neck, chest and face as his voice rose around her in growling surges. She called out when she climaxed and shivered as he continued to pummel her. He drove into her until he forced another climax and then released with her. They latched together and her head fell back to take in the stars, cold and distant.

She collapsed into a heap and he pulled away as she curled over into the fetal position. She could sense him moving about but she ignored him and closed her eyes, feeling the exhaustion break over her. On top of infiltrating the Institute, discovering the truth about Shaun, learning of Danse's origins, and facing down Maxson… it was too much. Too much piled onto just trying to exist in this broken place. She let the blackness absorb her and drifted away.

" _I want to tell him, 'Drop Dead!' but I keep lovin' him instead. My momma must have dropped me on my head. He's a demon, he is a devil…. He's a dog!"_

She groaned automatically as she rolled over, the hard floor unforgiving beneath her. She stared up at the metal beams above and her eyes shifted down to take in the wisp of periwinkle that clouded the edges of the gigantic wind shield, letting a silvery hue falter over the Commonwealth. The sun would break over the horizon soon so she'd slept for at least an hour, possibly longer. The silky scent of cigarette smoke pulled her gaze around to the wall opposite from the silvery view. It was shrouded in blackness but she could see his outline, a darker black, a blacker black, standing out against the glow of a tiny ember. She watched the light waver and could just barely make out the lips that contained it, the clipped but full beard. She could see her Pip-Boy glowing between his leather-clad legs, but the green sheen hardly reached his waist.

Betty Hutton sang on, her smooth voice bouncing from the walls and window. She struggled to move further, realizing he hadn't touched her since she'd collapsed. She reached for her knap sack and rummaged for something to wear, pulling her old vaultsuit free. As she started to pull it on she watched the lit cigarette glow brighter and bring his smoldering eyes into view.

"You were wrong, you know?" She said, her voice betraying the pain that seemed to rip through every muscle group.

He answered her with a smirk.

"I was the BEST soldier you had, not _one_ of the best."

At this he laughed aloud, nearly dropping his cigarette. She glared as he struggled to control his humor, which was a trait she'd never seen on him. It made her feel dirty, like she was delving into this person who had assaulted her.

"That's true enough." He finally said, and stood slowly as she zipped up her suit.

She watched wearily as he lurked along the edge of the room, as if trying to remain in the darkness for as long as possible. He smashed his half-done cigarette into the ashtray on the table and stood with his back to her, staring out at the kindling day.

"You could have killed me. All you had to do was pull the trigger." His voice was low and she thought she heard an edge of disappointment.

"Yeah, as if that wouldn't have been immediate suicide," she smirked.

He turned ever-so-slightly, watching her from the corner of his eye as she began to gather her things.

"Not for you." He said.

She stopped and stood, the anger lurching like an avalanche within.

"So that's the choice I had, allow you rape me or take on the entire Brotherhood? Holy Hell!"

"No, you made your choice when you allowed that _thing_ to live. I could have Court Martialed you and set a death sentence on both of your heads!" He was facing her full on now.

"I suppose you just decided to get what you wanted first, then. Well, I hope you enjoyed it because you and the rest of the Brotherhood can fuck off!"

She was snarling and turned away to grab for her things, not realizing her eyes were burning and filling. She swatted at his hand pulling her back to him, then started hitting, then punching and kicking, until he held her firm against him. She was crying, her voice breaking in sobs and she hated him for being able to see her like this. She hated herself for letting him.

"You were supposed to help me!" She screamed, wrenching ineffectually in his grasp.

"Shhh…" His lips were in her hair, and she shivered as she allowed the emotions to seep out.

They stayed that way for a time, and then his voice rumbled around her, like an intrusive thing,

"I did it because you had to be punished for your insubordination, but I didn't want to lose you. You are an important asset to the Brotherhood. If I had taken the punishment through legitimate means you would be banished from the Brotherhood and perhaps the Commonwealth, at the least. You could have lost your life."

She pushed roughly away from him.

"Don't put some Holier-than-thou, doing-it-for-your-own-good twist on this. You wanted to fuck me so you did."

He smirked again and his eyes lit with that heady, dangerous glow.

"Again, true enough."

"You think I'm going to stick around and be your loyal little Paladin after last night?"

"I do, actually, because we are going to help you. If you think you can take on the Institute single-handedly, have at it. You are good, but nobody is that good."

"I have other friends." She said, narrowing her eyes.

"And you would have gone to them first if they could get the job done better than us. Look, say what you will. You're a soldier, and a damn fine woman. You're my soldier and rather than lose you, I took advantage. Now I can feel comfortable in the illusion that you aren't a glutton for punishment and your subterfuge will end here and now. As long as it does, I won't have a reason to reprimand you again."

"Reprimand!?" She was nearly laughing. Nearly.

"Yes, reprimand. If you disagree with my methods feel free to desert, but realize that my promise to ignore your little machine's existence will cease to exist and both of you will be hunted down as the war criminals you are. Also, don't think for a second I won't use every resource at my disposal to assure your capture."

It was like the breath was sucked from her lungs and she took a step back from him.

"Who do you think you are?"

He smiled his dangerous smile, the one that contained no humor, and reached down to gather her things in a couple of sweeping grabs. He stepped forward to tip them into her arms and she glared as he did so.

"Does it matter? You have a new choice now. Make it. You need to realize the world you live in, soldier, and stop looking so incredulous about a reality that no longer exists," he said. She started to interrupt but he continued with a stern look.

"In this place people take what they want. The Brotherhood exists in this world, as do I. We have our order but I instill it as I please. I am your leader and you are my soldier. Don't forget it."

His eyes were like ice, hard and cold.

"You toe the line and I won't have to get creative again."

She barely managed to avoid punching him in his swollen nose. She made a disgusted noise and turned away sharply, sweeping up her Pip-Boy and strapping it on as she started toward the door.

"And Paladin," his voice stopped her with the doorknob in her grasp.

"I don't want any of my soldiers fraternizing with that abomination that paraded as our Brother. Am I understood?"

She glared back at him over her shoulder.

"Yes, _Brother,_ " she sneered and snapped the door open without another glance, feeling his heat rise behind her as she rushed to escape the Prydwyn.


End file.
